BBH

Advertising.


http://www.lynxeffect.com/

We had a talk with BBH, another international super-advertising firm. We were given the talk by a two-man creative team. It's not news that advertising perpetuates negative gender associations, but a large subject of the talk was the future of advertising, and all these new ideas...I wondered if anyone thought over-sexing and objectifying people isn't a an old idea.

Some of their ads for Levi's were funny, and more gender-balanced.

They spoke about viral advertising, where companies pay for events of films, and then get publicity for sponsoring cultural things, rather than just promoting their products. A lot of these films can be seen on youtube--the internet is the biggest portal for subversive advertising. I imagine what could happen if creative people in advertising used these opportunities in a way that could further people's thinking. perhaps that not really possible, the goal is still to sell things, but it's a nice thought.

When we first got here, some of us noticed how we felt women were sort of approached differently- motherhood for instance--I was having lunch in the courtyard of the V&A and several women had young children, one of which was scootering around the pool completely naked, something I thought was that at home this situation would never take place, or seen as quite an annoyance, no one there seemed to mind. Walking home in the afternoon you see men in suits outside every pub drinking beer, but you see women too, which is sort of interesting because they seem like a male oriented atmosphere. I'm not sure how different gender is here than in the states, have a seen enough to know, are these false first impressions, and how this connects to what advertisers do, since they communicate with the masses. It's a bit strange actually, there are sort of differences, but sort of not?

Pentagram demistified

This international super-design collective has long been criticized on the subject of gender. This sort of elusive design company invited partners to join, and they work across four international offices in all fields of design. it sort of reminded me of some kind of old boys club/secret society, but they had some nice ideas about design. Their take on the collective process, the intersection of different interests/goals among the partners, the idea of what Pentagram is as a design collective where everyone exists to support a company going, and everyone shares the responsibilities/commitment while pursuing their own paths was cool. During the talk, the issue of gender was carefully noted. There are currently two female partners, and the reason there are only two is because there are no other female partners any of the current partners want to bring in. hm. is this a generational thing? 20 years ago were there no female design students? are women designers less developed because of other demands? does Pentagram like to stick with designers who create bold, sort of "masculine" things? I feel their aesthetic sort of enforces ideas of masculinity, or at least as masculinity is portrayed in our culture.

China Design Now

this show was incredible...the recent history of design in China, and how design communities are isolated and identifiable by region. Designers themselves have created these communities, before the government reforms, there were no designers, only government employed artist workers. Today, design is a huge part of their push forward.

Four Great things in China:
Cell Phones
Televisions
Houses
and what was the last one?

Some very strange things going on architecturally, for instance a housing complex modeled after quaint English neighborhoods, China's own Tudor village.

They did some beautiful things with type, Chinese characters serving as text/image/symbol in a singular form.

Women came into play when the exhibit looked at fashion and art.

Sandwich boxes

pickle and cheese
bacon and mayonnaise
tuna and sweetcorn
tuna and cucumber
boiled ham an mustard

I really enjoy the signage here

First Week in London

Between jet lag and being so busy the first week has been a very strange block of time. It's almost overwhelming how much information is coming and going. to start, the city itself has a much different feeling than anywhere I've ever been. The landscape, I think related more to our bodies than it does in a place like New York. When you look down the street, you can actually see the sky, and building, lights and signs aren't towering over everything. There is also a really interesting mix of architecture, classical and modern, very formidable stone buildings next reflective glass domes and towers. The city is bustling, but not in an overwhelming way, it is more comfortable and welcoming. I've seen a huge range of things, from the "treasures" of the British Museum/Library and creative directors talking about the future of advertising. It was interesting to start the trip with two places that hold artifacts so significant to human history, our language, assertions of power, and transition to what is going on at the very moment. In one week, I've seen books that were hundred's of years old, these ornate, consuming objects that were intended to make the reader feel small and powerless--a history of design in China (which has only existed for about 30 years, and in which women have only recently been included) and heard talks from two of the largest international design/ad firms. All these things are certainly connected, the past informs the future...